It's one of the most common queries posed by retirees. Surely getting your hands on 25% of your pension tax free is an absolute no brainer, right? 

In this episode Benjamin discussed the pros and cons to taking your pension tax free cash straight away and hopefully gives you food for thought that it's not as black and white as it may seem. 

Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps you to never make another financial mistake.

Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd!

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Disclaimer - please note that nothing in this podcast can be relied upon as financial advice and the content is provided purely for information and guidance purposes. Please seek independent, regulated financial advice relevant to your situation.

Is your life insurance or critical illness plan under Trust? Don't even know what that means, let alone why you would do this?! This is the episode for you. 

Benjamin explains all and outlines the tax savings and headaches this can avoid. 

As always, free from jargon and guff you don't need. 

Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps you to never make another financial mistake.

Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd!

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Disclaimer - please note that nothing in this podcast can be relied upon as financial advice and the content is provided purely for information and guidance purposes. Please seek independent, regulated financial advice relevant to your situation.

The answer to this one is perhaps not what you expect. 

Benjamin explains all in this episode. 

Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps you to never make another financial mistake.

Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd!

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Disclaimer - please note that nothing in this podcast can be relied upon as financial advice and the content is provided purely for information and guidance purposes. Please seek independent, regulated financial advice relevant to your situation.

So we're into the new tax year at last. 

If you didn't start taking control of your money in the last tax year then you're probably feeling pretty unmotivated right now. 

In this episode Benjamin explains why it's not sensible to dwell on the past and instead keep your eyes forward and start planning now with a fresh and positive mindset. 

The new tax year has started, and now is the perfect opportunity. 

Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps you to never make another financial mistake.

Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd!

Take my 5 minute retirement assessment (can you already afford to retire?) 🚀


Disclaimer - please note that nothing in this podcast can be relied upon as financial advice and the content is provided purely for information and guidance purposes. Please seek independent, regulated financial advice relevant to your situation.

For some investors the current market volatility will be their first real taste of portfolio volatility. 

In this episode Benjamin provides a reminder that what you're currently seeing isn't a bug of the system, it's a feature of investing. 

Staying true to your financial plan will reward investors in the long-term, even if Donald Trump has other short-term goals. 

Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps you to never make another financial mistake.

Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd!

Take my 5 minute retirement assessment (can you already afford to retire?) 🚀


Disclaimer - please note that nothing in this podcast can be relied upon as financial advice and the content is provided purely for information and guidance purposes. Please seek independent, regulated financial advice relevant to your situation.

As ludicrous as this sounds, if you've never been a member of a registered pension scheme then you should strongly consider opening a pension, even if you elect to pay nothing into it. 

Why? Because not doing so could hamper your ability to use carry forward in future tax years. 

This is a time sensitive action and something you should consider doing before the end of the current tax year. 

Future you will thank you for this one. 

Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps you to never make another financial mistake.

Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd!

Take my 5 minute retirement assessment (can you already afford to retire?) 🚀


Disclaimer - please note that nothing in this podcast can be relied upon as financial advice and the content is provided purely for information and guidance purposes. Please seek independent, regulated financial advice relevant to your situation.

Understanding this crucial rule can allow you to pay more into your pension than you may think you're able to. 

But it's not without its complications and caveats. 

Wondering where to start and what this rule even means? 

Benjamin explains all in this episode and as always keeps this as high level as possible, and free from jargon so that you can understand how this might benefit your financial planning. 

Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps you to never make another financial mistake.

Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd!

Take my 5 minute retirement assessment (can you already afford to retire?) 🚀


Disclaimer - please note that nothing in this podcast can be relied upon as financial advice and the content is provided purely for information and guidance purposes. Please seek independent, regulated financial advice relevant to your situation.

This one is an important one. 

The opportunity to pay for early missing state pension years is closing on the 5th April 2025. After this date you can only go back the preceding 6 tax years. 

This might not sound a big deal, but you could be missing out on your full state pension if you don't act now.

This episode is your starting point and will help you to consider whether paying for these missing years/gaps is a sensible plan. 

Here's a link to get your state pension forecast as mentioned in the show. 

Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps you to never make another financial mistake.

Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd!

Take my 5 minute retirement assessment (can you already afford to retire?) 🚀


Disclaimer - please note that nothing in this podcast can be relied upon as financial advice and the content is provided purely for information and guidance purposes. Please seek independent, regulated financial advice relevant to your situation.

Following on from last week's episode, here Benjamin outlines the main behavioural finance theories that are impacting our chances of investment success. 

How many are you guilty of? 

Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps you to never make another financial mistake.

Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd!

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Disclaimer - please note that nothing in this podcast can be relied upon as financial advice and the content is provided purely for information and guidance purposes. Please seek independent, regulated financial advice relevant to your situation.

By now the diligent money nerds out there should realise that successful investing is really very simple. 

But in spite of this we still struggle to achieve good investment outcomes. 

Research shows that investor personal returns are often far less than the returns of the assets they actually invest in. 

In this week's episode Benjamin explains what may be causing this and why it matters so much to your investment pathway to success. 

Join Benjamin Mitchell (themoneyscot), serial hater of financial jargon, as he helps you to never make another financial mistake.

Getting on top of your personal finances doesn't need to be complicated or scary. Arm yourself with the only knowledge you need to transform yourself from money novice to money nerd!

Take my 5 minute retirement assessment (can you already afford to retire?) 🚀


Disclaimer - please note that nothing in this podcast can be relied upon as financial advice and the content is provided purely for information and guidance purposes. Please seek independent, regulated financial advice relevant to your situation.